Mobile Journalism

I’m Natasha Ghoneim, a senior correspondent with Al Jazeera English and, right now, I’m in Doha’s Souq Waqif. I’m going to show you how to shoot a news story with a mobile phone and a kit that can be carried in a duffel bag slung on my shoulder.  

There has never been a time when anyone could shoot a news story or even a documentary with a tool, most all of us carry with us every day-our mobile phone.

With such light and often inconspicuous gear, I can easily move around the market. I’ve noticed it is also less intimidating to people I approach. With a budget of as little as several hundred dollars you can create a kit with a tripod - that is essential, a gimbal and a microphone, that allows you to create stories that are creative and impactful.

Journalism is continuing to go through a massive phase of disruption - it’s an adapt-or-die time. It’s also an exhilarating time for our craft. Journalists have never had such ease to reach audiences and for those of us who tell stories visually new techniques and tools are shattering barriers.

During this course, I hope to show how journalists, from novices to veterans like me, can use a mobile phone to create quality stories that air on a world class network like Al Jazeera. Many believe this will be a big part of the future of journalism.